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08/03/13 -

Ten years at the top, measuring right to the top, with ZephIR Lidar

Industry-leading wind lidar company ZephIR Lidar have this month celebrated their 10th anniversary of wind lidar experience, having been the original pioneer of lidar measurement for the wind industry. On 4th March 2003, a prototype ZephIR lidar was successfully installed on the nacelle of a Nordex N90 wind turbine generator, and immediately demonstrated its ability to measure the wind more than 100m in front of the turbine blades. ZephIR’s introduction sparked a revolution in anemometry, and it is now becoming routine for lidar to measure wind characteristics for a range of applications in the wind industry including resource assessment, power curves, wake analysis, and turbine-mounted systems.

Figure 1: ZephIR 300 and ZephIR DM – ten years of lidar excellence

ZephIR® exploited decades of research at UK government Research & Development establishment QinetiQ, and was further optimised for the wind industry by leading international renewable energy consultancy Natural Power. ZephIR paved the way for many of the remote sensing devices seen in the market today and whilst the ZephIR Lidar team continue to innovate with world firsts addressing complex client requirements, the product has now amassed more than 3.5 million hours of operation across 650+ deployments globally spanning a decade of commercial experience.

The world firsts listed below are the earliest reported examples that the company is aware of from open publications:

ZephIR 300 measures wind characteristics onshore and on fixed or floating platforms offshore from just 10 metres (33 feet) up to 200 metres (656 feet) from installed position to inform wind regime and quality studies during the development and operation of wind farms onshore and offshore. ZephIR 300 is accurate, reliable and affordable, adding value to wind energy projects at every stage – from pre-planning, through development and on to operation. Every system is uniquely subjected to an industry-approved validation process, part of which occurs at the UK’s Lidar and Sodar test site, ensuring repeatable finance-grade data.

ZephIR DM is a Dual Mode variation of the successful 300 system. Mounted inside the spinner or on top of the nacelle, ZephIR DM measures wind characteristics in front of or behind a turbine from just 10 metres (33 feet) out to 300 metres (984 feet), during the operation of wind farms onshore and offshore. ZephIR DM provides valuable advanced wind data for the optimised performance and alignment of wind turbines, for in-situ power performance measurements, to reduce wind loading on turbine components and for specific troubleshooting applications.

Both products are supported by a comprehensive range of Support Packages to ensure end-to-end wind measurement services for clients globally.

Chief Scientist at ZephIR Lidar, Dr. Mike Harris, widely respected as one of the world’s leading experts and the pioneer of wind industry’s lidar technology, commented: “ZephIR originated during a time of great innovation in the UK and with the support of a comprehensive R&D, Engineering and Commercial team it has evolved significantly in to the systems we see today – ZephIR 300 and ZephIR Dual Mode. Both are founded on a very simple, robust scientific solution to a range of extremely diverse and challenging customer issues faced when measuring wind speed at unparalleled levels of accuracy in very harsh environmental conditions – be that offshore, in complex sites or actually located on or in wind turbine generators. Our application of science continues to de-risk the industry and will do so for many years to come. We are proud to be a part of that solution and look forward to the next ten years of wind lidar innovation – that is ZephIR Lidar through and through!”

Notes for Editors

About Zephir Ltd.

In 2003 we released the first commercial wind lidar, ZephIR®, exploiting decades of research at UK government Research & Development establishment QinetiQ. Designed specifically for the wind industry ZephIR has paved the way for many of the remote sensing devices seen in the market today. Our original lidar technology continues to innovate with world firsts such as taking measurements from a wind turbine spinner and being the first to deploy an offshore wind lidar, both fixed and floating. ZephIR has also now amassed more than 3 million hours of operation across 650+ deployments globally spanning a decade of commercial experience. For wind measurements onshore, offshore and in turbine-mounted applications, ZephIR provides accurate, reliable finance-grade wind data.

Zephir Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fred. Olsen Ltd. – established in the UK in 1963 with business interests primarily focussed on renewable energy, including ZephIR. Visit www.zephirlidar.com for more information.

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